Contributed by Chungbom Katayama
CARP Las Vegas team at Washington D.C. in October 2016.
Hello, my name is Chungbom Katayama! I was born and raised in Toyama, Japan and lived there until I graduated high school. When I was 18, I decided to come to the United States to join a faith-based leadership program called Generation Peace Academy (GPA). Being part of the program for two years, I learned and practiced life principles similar to CARP. My experience on GPA opened my eyes to discover God, myself, and my purpose. After two years, I joined CARP Las Vegas with the hope to continue my journey. During my time in CARP, I invested in my studies at the College of Southern Nevada and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, achieving my Bachelor’s in Communication.
Chungbom giving a presentation with a friend at a retreat in Los Angeles.
My CARP experience taught me mainly two things. First, is the power of living a life based on unwavering principles and the impact that doing so has on my life, others, and the world. I used to believe that the problems we see in the world were solely political and ideological issues. However, these principles taught me that when we receive God’s love substantially in our everyday lives and spread that to others, we become the source of change.
Secondly, I learned to understand and love those around me. Throughout my life, I was not confident or happy with my ability to love and care for others. CARP taught me over and over again about the importance of loving people and provided me the opportunities to do so.
Campus Talk conference hosted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Fall 2017.
My five years of CARP allowed me to see the need and importance for all college-age students to learn and practice these principles that will not only better their lives, but also the world.
Chungbom with a group of friends at Waseda University, Japan during the summer 2018 Hyo Jeong trip.
And this is why I decided to work with National CARP as the Chapter Support Coordinator, working with newly established chapters across the United States. It has been my joy and pleasure to work with passionate, committed CARP members who want to make a difference in the world. I hope to continue and give all the support I can.
Welcome to the team, Chungbom! Connect to him at chungbom@carplife.org! Share your story to ryota@carplife.org.